“The President will push through with his visit to Laos on Monday,” Andanar said in Filipino over government radio yesterday.

“Executive Secretary Bingbong Medialdea will be the caretaker office while the President is away,” he said.

Duterte is expected to join other world leaders for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and related meetings in Vientiane on September 6 to 8. It will be the first international journey of the President since his assumption to office last June.

Senator Alan Cayetano will be part of the President’s official delegation to Laos, according to Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella.

“Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, in his capacity as the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will be part of the Philippine delegation to attend in the bilateral and sideline meetings at the ASEAN summits & related summits,” Abella said.

DUTERTE AGENDA

Speaking in Davao City last Friday about his attendance at the ASEAN meeting, Dutere said he was ready to deliver a message to the ASEAN community.

“I would just say that we are ready to cooperate in establishing good order among nations, that we are ready to do our part internationally, comply with our obligations, comply with the contracts that we have entered into with foreigners in this country doing business,” the President said.

He added that the Philippines is also ready to talk about terrorism, human trafficking, and illegal drugs with other world leaders, which will include US President Barack Obama, during the ASEAN summit.

The President said he would push for the country’s priorities such as a drug-free region, emergency response and disaster management, protection of migrant workers and combatting human trafficking.

Manila will also continue to advocate respect for the rule of law, a legally binding code of conduct in the South China Sea dispute.

Duterte, however, is not inclined to raise the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea in the summit but is ready to answer any queries if other leaders ask him.

MEETING COUNTERPARTS

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Ma. Hellen dela Vega said President Duterte will be having several bilateral meetings with foreign leaders arranged to take place at the margins of the gathering – as has been the tradition.

Dela Vega said Duterte is scheduled to have at least nine bilateral meetings to attend “subject to the availability of schedules.”

Among those the President will be having a private dialogue with on the sidelines of the summit are Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, India’s Narendra Modi, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In an earlier briefing at Malacañang, the DFA said he is also expected to hold one-on-one meetings with his counterparts from host Laos, New Zealand, and Singapore.

ASEAN CHAIRMANSHIP

Dela Vega said the Philippines will formally accept from Laos the chairmanship of ASEAN for 2017 which will commence on New Year’s Day 2017,

She said joining President Duterte for this trip are Foreign Affairs Perfecto Yasay Jr., Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez and Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo.

They head the three government agencies which represent the three pillars of the ASEAN Community that was established in December, 2015: The Foreign Affairs secretary representing the ASEAN Political-Security Community pillar; the Trade and Industry secretary representing the ASEAN Economic Community pillar; and the Social Welfare and Development secretary representing the Socio-Cultural Community pillar.

After participating in the annual summit in Laos, Andanar said the President will making a working visit to Indonesia.

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Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/duterte-all-set-for-debut-on-intl-stage-at-asean-summit-in-laos/